Motorex Switzerland Showed us why a chemical engineering and manufacturing firm is where you want your lube to come from (as opposed to products designed for something else and then rebadged for cycling companies that make up the bulk of what is available. That Review is HERE.

The company puts the same effort in its range of cleaning products and that’s where we’re looking today.

MOTOREX don’t suggest magic potions and it’s not marketing hype driving the brand. Their engineers have gone about designing, producing, and testing while their marketing team have quietly gone about spreading both cleaning and lubrication products across Europe. Now, after very good success in the motorsports field in North America, they’re launching the cycling line in the same confident and quiet fashion of letting the product do most of the talking.

“Methodical” comes to mind and anyone with a little cultural understanding knows that approach is to be expected from a company sitting in a part of the world where the people are known just that teeny bit more for engineering excellence than for artistic flare and comedic renown.

To the Product
Step one is a dirty bike. Something I needed one of my friends for, as I simply can’t stand to let a bike go for more than one ride without cleaning it…

Some folks noted in the last review that the bike in the background of a cleaning and lube product shot looked pretty dirty (grips and chain and, well, the whole thing had little sparkle).

Step two after making things dirty: Using the Bike Clean Spray.

The spray on product, a water source and a couple of cleaning brushes you can buy at any discount store or auto parts or good bike shop are all you need. No bucket of suds required for bikes with “reasonable” dirt, grime, sweat build up.

This product works on a bit more dirt than shown…

Pick off any clumps of growth, then spray on a healthy dose of Bike Clean to cover the bike…

Pick off any clumps of dirt ahead of spraying and make sure you hit areas with a lot of built up grease and grime with an extra squirt…

You can spray into the cracks tough spots. This product is perfect for the real pain in the ass places like brakes…

You can also go right onto the chain with a solid dose and hit the front and rear mechs and both sides of the cranks…

The real benefit of this stuff is that it attacks and breaks down dirt in hard to reach places… If you can get the area saturated with Bike Clean, the rest is easy… You can plainly see right away that oily grime starts to run off the bike…

The secret to this stuff is nanotech. Motorex focused on breaking down the bonding of dirt (especially dirt and petroleum product mixes). Most soap products along with water do an ok job of breaking up dirt. Bike Clean focuses on killing the bonding ability of dirt and grime (mixes of dirt and other “stuff) breaking it up AND OFF of your equipment.

At this point, you can use the brushes if you need to… For lightly soiled bikes, just the hose will have you clean.

For bikes that need more love… Take the biggie brush for everything but components. Use the big brush on bar tape, lever grips, saddle and then the frame and bottle cages. Use the skinny brush for (in roughly this order) inside of cranks (the tight spots between the frame and cranks) and chain rings, front der, rear der, chain and cassette… Give the skinny brush a rinse and a couple of sprays between each component to slough off any grease clumps.

You don’t want the product to dry on the bike, so until you have the hang of this, you might want to go in sections… That said, I am no place near fast but can go easily over the whole bike in one go…

Once done scrubbing, immediately give the whole thing a very good rinse, then let her dry (use a little of Motorex spray lube at the usual points).

[Quicky note: We get so much nano-pixie dust BS marketing in cycling that when we hear “NANO” we tend to tune it out. Now consider this… melts goo in a fashion that would have some folks think it all but radio active waste-like bad. A good example of real tech in this product? It is solvent free and biodegradable.

Step three is Bike Shine…

And hell no, Lemon Pledge is NOT the same thing…

Arizona is likely the capitol of dust and clingy dirt.

Bike Shine’s biggest benefit is not that it adds a little sparkle… You are going to get your bike dirty again and Bike Shine keeps the dirt from clinging as firmly to your bike. It’s like spraying a frying pan with Pam non-stick…

Now that I’m using the bike shine regularly, I only use the Bike Clean wash spray about every third cleaning (once too much grime has built up around components and in cracks) because a simple rinse with water and a re-application of Bike shine is a very effective dirt repellent.

Using it is simple. On a clean bike (or even dusty lightly dirty bike that’s had a coating of Bike Shine previously), spray Bike Shine directly on the bike frame and parts and wipe down.

That’s it. Use it on components (not in place of lube), frame, cable housing and you can use it to wipe down spokes and hubs (keep it off brake surfaces!).

That’s it…
Spray on and rinse off Bike Clean. (Use a quick brush or sponge before rinsing if needed).

Let bike dry and lube what needs lubing.

Spray on and wipe down with Bike shine…

And you’re sparkling head to toe.

Crappy grips…

Clean Grips… (don’t bike shine your grips…).

note the new HUDZ fit and feel frikin awesome…

For people with white tape and grips, bike clean is a neccesity. On days when you want a freshen up but not a bike wash, just squirt some Bike Clean on a paper towel and wipe down your white stuff then wipe it again with a water damp cloth or paper towel to take off any residue…

Nasty gunk / energy-grimed bottle cages?

Cages look new and that was honestly a shocker as this bike has been cleaned multiple times and the cages never looked like this…

Skuzzed out BB:

Does this bike have a couple thousand and / or Zero miles on it?…

Rear Mech and cassette detailed…

Brakes, even in the cracks, handled.

Total Cleaning time?
About 15 minutes hands on (not including drying time), and with pretty minimal effort.

Of course there are exceptions… If your bike is caked with multiple layers of mud and / or you’ve gone months without cleaning, don’t expect to spray on and rinse off your neglect / extreme use… You’ll need to clean off multiple layers of caked on mud the old fashioned way. But a follow up spray of bike clean once the super heavy stuff is off will leave you more residue free than soap and water combos.

For anyone with even a relatively good sense of upkeep, Bike Clean and Bike Shine are the same combination of speed and quality you get that we found in the chain clean and spray lube from Motorex. Not just fast, but very good quality…

One More cleaner…
Speaking of spray on and rinse off. Raise your hand if your helmet looks like it were strapped to a farm animal rather than a human head.

Helmet Clean is another one of those products I used in Moto before realizing it was fine for the Bicycle…

This is pretty basic stuff, requiring basic directional skills, very little finesse and the ability to rub (Rinsing is optional).

FIRST, choose a safe location to apply Helmet clean. It shoots out fairly strongly and it is going past the helmet and hit what ever is on the other side… You can put your helmet into a deep (kitchen) sink or put your helmet on a towel for easy clean up.

Double grip the top nozzle, point it at your helmet (from 8-10 inches back) and squeeze…

Quick hand movement is required not to overcoat areas, but you’ll get it once you start to us it… Just coat the inside evenly (and hit your straps!) and the foam will expand and you’ll hear it working… The foams expansion is part of the process. It penetrates the padding and the surface cracks of the foam and lifts out and breaks down dirt and bacteria…

Wait a minute or so and then go to work with a soft cloth, wiping away the foam and taking with it all the gunk it lifted out.

You can call it good at that point and leave it to dry a few hours or you can give your helmet a rinse if you want to cut the light scent down.

Like all products that will be exposed to your skin, I would suggest trying out a bit of this on a single pad or two first to see if it irritates… But several friends of mine now use this product and none have had issues with irritation.

This stuff is said to be specially formulated to eat bacteria and clean padding and foam surfaces without damaging the foam of your helmet! I have been using it in high end, custom painted moto helmets for a few years with zero foam damage, so I have no worry at all with using it on helmets costing 80-90% less…

That’s it for this round…
Motorex are starting to catch on pretty quick at top end shops. After the lube side I had plenty of emails asking where to get it and a few high end shops asking “what took you so long”, but the word’s growing.

The Motorex products reviewed so far have all been class leaders. Drive lube, drive clean and these latest cleaning products are all I am using this point. Everything else has been given away…

Cost on the products is a bit more than most products, but the relative value is higher so I don’t have a problem calling up and ordering it. My gear is too expensive not to use the best stuff I can get my hands on, so getting a box mailed in is worth it.

Interbike is right around the corner and I would guess that higher end shops will be picking this up.

This actual email arrived shortly after posting this review:
Dear Sirs,
When you put the last write-up on your site about motorex lubricants and cleaners I decided to give it a try. WOW, both my steeds haven’t looked like this since the day they were purchased. The drive train looks almost, well really does look new. And I love the lubricants, very little dirt or grime has built up in about 150 miles since it was cleaned. It took me a while to find the products but I am sold.
Mickel Kobeck- Triathlete, Cyclist

For info on the new cleaning products and the full line of Motorex Bicycle kit, have a quick click to: MotorexBicycle.com

Have Fun,
Charles Manantan
Thanks for looking. If you have other experiences with gear, or something to add, drop us a line. We don’t claim to know everything (we just imply it at times). Give us a pat on the back if you like the reviews, or a slap in the head if you feel the need!

PezCycling News and the author ask that you contact the manufacturers before using any products we test here. Only the manufacturer can provide accurate and complete information on proper use and or installation of products as well as any conditional information or product limitations.